"The member of staff agrees that it was an inappropriately worded homework task, missing the context behind it, and fully understands why I have asked for it to be withdrawn.

"Learning about capital punishment, and how it links to the religious beliefs people have, is part of the requirements of both citizenship and religious studies which, at Paulet, we call philosophy and ethics.

"Obviously the nature of philosophy and ethics requires some class discussions which tackle some emotive issues.

"Teaching staff are very mindful of this and generally deal with these topics sensitively.

"Dealing with 'good and evil', or the perception thereof, is very important if our young people are to develop into adults able to, in a mature way, reason and respond to issues that may arise."